Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionize all areas of society, offering immense potential to improve people's lives. Recognizing this, the NRW state government is supporting the brightest minds through the "Lamarr Fellow Network Program" to reinforce its pioneering role in trustworthy AI research and development. Selected fellows join the prestigious Lamarr network and receive research funding of up to 600,000 euros over four years. In the third round, two more researchers are being admitted: Prof. Dr. Asja Fischer from the Ruhr University Bochum and Prof. Dr. Milica Gašić from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
Asja Fischer, professor of Machine Learning at Ruhr University since 2018, conducts research in the field of Deep Learning, including Generative Models aiming to enhance the security of AI models and foster fair usage practices. Fischer is developing methods to improve the detection of artificially generated images. Together with her team, she optimizes techniques to safeguard data against illegal usage by Generative Models.
"As Generative Models advance, we must not only explore their potential applications but also monitor the risks they pose to society. Photorealistic images generated by these models can spread disinformation or threaten highly skilled artistic professions by potentially replacing their works with generated models. Research focuses on the question of how to protect image data from being used by Generative Models. I am very happy to be offered the opportunity to work on this important topic together with other scientists from the Lamarr network," states Asja Fischer.
Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence was established in July 2022 and is jointly funded by the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with an annual budget of 20 million euros. The premier international research center links fundamental AI research with real-world applications. It provides an attractive environment for established researchers and emerging talents. The "Lamarr Fellow Network Program" is building a network of exceptional AI scientists in North Rhine-Westphalia.
General note: In case of using gender-assigning attributes we include all those who consider themselves in this gender regardless of their own biological sex.